Google AMP or Accelerated Mobile Pages are meant to make websites and articles load faster. Web pages built on AMP load an average of four times faster and use 10 times less data than non-AMP pages. Taking a leaf from Snapchat and Instagram and marrying it with AMP, Google has now announced AMP Stories. Amp Stories is a visual storytelling format which will make use of images, videos and animations to present articles and other stories on mobile and the open web. The interface will be tappable, just like Snapchat or Instagram Stories. AMP Stories, announced at the AMP conference held in Amsterdam, are built with the same technology used in AMP pages and will load quickly, while providing users with a smooth browsing experience. Users will also be able to share and embed these AMP Stories across apps and websites.
Since AMP Stories are built on top of the existing AMP framework, publishers will also be able to gather analytics from them. Google has partnered with a handful of content makers to introduce AMP Stories. These include – CNN, Hearst, Conde Nast, Mashable, Meredith, Mic, Vox Media and The Washington Post.
Publishers will be able to create visual effects with multiple layers in a page. Audio can also be added to AMP Stories while they play out. The basic ingredients that go into AMP Stories are individual pages. These pages, in turn, are composed of individual layers that contain basic HTML and AMP elements.
AMP Stories are currently only in the preview phase and Google wants to give publishers ample time to support the new format before a more wider roll-out. It may be a while before AMP Stories trickle down to India. It is also not very clear how these stories will be ranked in Google Search, however we do know that they will show up in Search.